Internationalist Review of Irish Culture

Ireland is in a time of translation. Translation is here intended broadly, linguistically, culturally, socially, politically and artistically. In this paper I will try to deal with the translations of Irish women’s representations and identities through women’s movements and theatre, from a feminist point of view. First, I will show that the feminist movement, which appeared in Ireland in the 19th century, was necessary for women to obtain new rights and shape new identities. In fact, the Irish women’s movement wasn’t isolated and was influenced by women’s movements in other countries, such as the USA, the UK and, to a lesser extent, France. Irish women looked to the European Community to establish a different balance of power in their favour. That’s why they used the European law to obtain justice. However, the EU hasn’t always been helpful. I will especially concentrate on two examples: a positive one, i.e. the 1975 European Directive for equal salaries, and a negative one, i.e. the special clause concerning abortion in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. Second, taking social and political changes achieved by women through the impulsion of the feminist movement as a basis for a broader reflection on theatre, I will then analyse whether these changes have been taken into account by contemporary playwrights. I will mainly focus on Marina Carr, Sebastian Barry, Gary Mitchell and Dermot Bolger, and compare them to find out whether some of their works have incorporated new gender discourses inherited from the women’s movements and whether they have moved from specifically Irish themes towards more universal ones (for example, political and financial scandals, men and women’s relationships, racism).